Chicken coop



Aug. 14, 1923. ,464.5s

J. W. POTTENGER CHIKEN COOP Filed Feb. 11. 1921 Fq. l. Fiq. 2;

Patented Aug. 14, 192 3.

UNITED STATES i,464,5si"

JAMES W. POTTENGER. OF KANKAKEE, ILLINDIS.

'CHICKEN COOP.

Application filed February 11, 1921.

To all whom it 'may conccm;

Be it known that I, JAMES XV. Po'rrnnonn, a citizen nt the United Sta-tes` resiilin ut Ktinkikee, in the County oi" Knnknltee :llll State of Illinois, have invented new and use ful Improvements in Chicken Coops, of

which the 'following is a full, clear, and exw-t description.

My invention relates to chieken-coops and particularly to a ooop of peeuliar eonstruc tion tor breaking hens of the hroocling habit. Most hens efter laying eggs e certain length of time instinctively become broody and Will set on eggs or the empty nest eontinuously night and day expecting to heteh and bronzi chicks. Comperatively few hens are re quired for broodin g purposes` the eim hcing egg roduction. This the hroody hzhit great y decreases as well us affecting the health ot' the hen and making it thin.

The object of my invention is to break the liens of this habit by imprisoning` them for n certain number of days n an improved eoop that is so constructed that the chicken miser does not have to tax his memory :s to the length of time the hens have heen inean ceri'ted, but only has to remember to manipulate the coop in a given nmnner at fixed in tervals of time. The coop Will thus sys- ,tematize {L Work often poorly handled and more or less neglected bythe average poultry handlen My invention is hereina fter fully tle serihed, und is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved eoop.

Fignre 2 is a Section of the same taken in a vertical plane midway between its sicles.

Figure 3 is a tiransverse section oi' on(` form of the platforms or floors that divirle said coop into eompartments.

Figure i is a vertical section of another form of a platform.

Reference being hnd to the druwinp s 5 represents a rectangula r boyshnperl noop. in which the front edge of the bottom. (i. there ot. projects out in front ot the trontelfies n' the side Walls of the same to form n shell' T. upon which the lower edge ol: the remmil frontwull 8 of he coop, rests.

This frontwnll is provided between 1:5 top and bottom erlge with :i pluruliiy of. say, four equilistant laternl slots. that ex tend from near one sidewall thcreot to the other, and ure mule for the atcomnnnltinn Serial No. 444.111.

of slitling' platforins or fioors 9, 9, whose sile edge-s slide in horizontal groores in the innor sin-faces of the Sidewalls of the eoop and tliriilc the same into, say, four Coinpz'rtinents ?u :ml D' This frontwell is sec-urer to and closes the coop by means of loohs and hasps 10. and ll, substtntilly :is shown in Figure l, and is provided With a door ,12 between the uppernost floor 9 and the top edge of the same, and between the loors of the coinpurtnents below the uppermost onc. These doors, 12, preterahly, eor respond in Construction, and, as shown in the drnwings. eonsist of an open reetangular 'l'rzune coveretl With suitable screening anti ere preterzhly, hingerl to the sides of the door opening nczrcst the rightlmnd vertical clgc ol" the I'rontwnll and lmv simple looks l l, (such :is cnn le easily procured in any hurdw iro store), on the sides of the doortreme opposite seid hinges.

Between each door and the left-hand side, edge of the trontwall furthest fro i seid rloors sairl 'trontwall isprovided With comprutively large Windows 14, that are also covcretl with suitable screening, so es to permit plenty of air and light to enter each conipirtment. i

The 'front edge ot each floor is either fiush with or n'ojerts slightly beyond the front surface oi the frontwall anrl euch is provided with n knoh or other suitable hnnd-grssp 15 ut :1 point midway between itsside etlges by means of which it een he` moved in or out. lVhen these floors ere pushed back into the coop until their rezr edges engage the brick of the same, they clivide the coop into the a'l'oresuirl co'npartments that are, prefernlly. of corrosponrling dimensione.

In operation. one or more hroorly hens ere pl mwl in the upper compartment A ot th(` coop. through th(` door 12 thereof and ure inpri onel theroiu for, say one (luv. The fluor oi' said npper compartment is then pn'lml out tur enough to cause the liens to drop into the compurtuent P next lwlow it. More lromly liens are thon nhu-ed in the uppvrnost conpurtrncnt :and etter -nli e:wnt tor :another (lay the liens in conpurtment li :ii-c dumpe-'l into the third comnrtnent C by puliing out the floor oi" id -w-izl conpnrtnent l. lVhen the llom' ot -ozizprrtniunt P hzs been pushcd hack into its proper ;ilace the liens in conr !n-nt P in the ninnner hcrcinabove cxplzinetl.

i When it is first taken 'From the nest.

Compartment A is then restocked With the hens becoming hroody that day.

The filling of the lower eonpartrnent` l) is accomplished in the same way as P and C, thns filling: all of the eompurtnents of' the eoop from top to hottom.

After the expirntion ot' another day the lowermost floor fk of the lowernostx eonpartment l). is withlrawn. The hottom R of the eoop is provided with a large rectangnlar central opening: and when the liens in the lowerniosfi eonpartmenr IL :rre dropped theretrom !25' pnllinp` ont its floor\ compartment D. In this modified 'form the floor, 20, is made to correspond to the horizontal rec-tangnlar dimensions of the inside ot' the eonipartments and ,it has pivoted trnnnions 21 that project from the side edges thereof midway its length and are journaled in suitable hear ngs 22 in the sides of the coop. One ol" these trnnnions extends heyond its bearings and has a` erank 23 seered on the onter end th -reof h noas of which said bottom can he dmnped. Either the front or the renr edge of this bottom is adapted, when closed, to rest upon 21 transthey are droppei'l onto the gronnd helow the\\'erse aleat 24 Secured to the backwall and the coop.

This eonfinenent and dropping of the hens from one compartnent to another does not reqnire the operator to el'are his memory with the knowledge of the ength of time each hen hes heen ineareerated. All that he has to do is to put the hi'ood y hens through the eoop in the ni-inner lescribed. This ineareeration dis raets and diverts the thought and attention ot' the hen froni the desire to hrood so that it will he enred ot being hroody h the time it ohtains its freedom.

The desire of" the hen to hrood is; greatest Being first placed in the npperniost compertiiient, it is alvisahle to provide means therein that Will thoroughly divei't the attontion oF ihe hen and prevent it's hrooding. This: l in"- conplish V a eonstrnctitm of the loor 9, thereo'l" thai' makes it impossihle tor the hen to attempt to brood with any comtort. This floor consists of a reclangnhir frane 16. that has its under snr'aces ot side strips ronneeted by a thin hotton 17. and its front and real' strips ahove said bottom connected by a series o' longitnd nal slats 1& that are ahout an ineh and one half to two inehes in width. and are separated ahont the same distance apart. This makes it awkward [or and nneointortahle for the hen to hrood` as its feet slip off of said slats and it cannot assume a eomt'ortahle hroodng postare.

In Fignre of the drawing& I show a modified form of floor for these compnrtments, and partienlariy 'for the lower-most opposite edge is provided with a suitable spring-catch 25 (that can he easily procnred in any hardware store) that will snap into its keeper (not shown) and maintain the ioor in :i horizontal position. In order to drop the floor 20 all that it is neccssarv to do, is to reach under the bottom of the coop and push said catch ont ot' engagenient with its keeper and then dump the floor through the medium ot the crznk. When it is desired to close this modified floor, the erank is nianipnatieally engage its keeper and look in its proper position.

What I el aim as new is:

i\ chicken coop supported hy legs above the ;gi-mind or floor and coniprising a plurality of eompairtments nrrane il one above the other, a sliding floor for eaich COUIPHI- ment the lowermost one ol" which dnmps its contents on the gronnd or floor. and the npperniost of which has raised nargins and superposed strips connectinu the Inargins of opposite sides thcreot', and a reniovahle 'Front-wall for said coop provided with doors and foraminons windows ?or eaeh compartment` and transverscly elongated openings ont through which said loors can he Withdrawn or inserted In witness whereot I have herennto set in hand this Ist day o' February. OQI.

JAMES POTTENGER. VVitnesses:

FRANK D. THoMAsoN VIOLET W'ARDELL, 

